In case you didn't have enuf 2 worry about...

[Jim Davis]

This is hypothetical/fantasy, but bow hunting, strategy.

Suppose you lived where I do, in the Mississippi valley. You go to visit friends in western Oregon and, while you are there, there is a massive solar coronal mass ejection that kills the entire electrical system for the western hemisphere. Cars don't work. No food or fuel distribution is possible. No road kill.

Your family needs you to get home. It's August, so time is limited before cold comes to the Rockies.

You have a bicycle, bike tools, a takedown bow, a spare string, blunt and broadhead arrows. You also have a rain parka, space blanket, water filtration set, good pocket knife and sharpening stone, a lighter, spare folding bike tire, extra tube and patches.

Just riding time will take you 40 to sixty days. You can't carry more than a few days worth of food. There may be those who want what you have.

What would be your strategy to get food to get you through eastern Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska and down through Missouri?

I have some ideas, let's hear yours:)

[sleek]

Id be more worried about avoiding the masses of people who dont have the gear i have, which is literally everything i could need and want. And there will still be cars. I will always have a carborated pickup truck because i do believe something like this is possible.

Id have to travel at night  especially on moonless nights. I will travel only roads that have the least amount of previous traffic on them to avoid all gas stations and places other people would flock to first. A ride that far will wear out yoir tires so i would be inclined to hit a store up first thing as soon as a plan has been realized and get spare tires. Money will do no good so unfortunately looting may be required. Also, i would be a hunter of opportunity, and only shoot what i see as i ride, and small game only to reduce down time and processing food time. I would probably take opportunity to fish rather than hunt because im a better fisherman than hunter. Besides 40-60 daus isnt long enough to really worry about massive amounts of food to make it my priority.

[DC]

I will always have a carborated pickup truck because i do believe something like this is possible.

Does it have electronic ignition?

[Josh B]

Good point DC!  If you don't have a points/condenser distributor, the carburetor doesn't help.  Also alternators from the 80's on up have electronic voltage regulators.  They'd get fried too. 
This is actually something that's never far from the front of my mind.  Maybe not that exact scenario, but any major calamity that would leave me stranded anywhere in the nation.  With my job it could be anywhere.  In my way of thinking, a bicycle or anything that restricted my route of travel to any roads would be suboptimal.  Roads are for people that like to get ambushed.  I would prefer a horse or mule.  That's probably not going to be an option, so the next best thing is LPC's(leather personnel carriers).  I have two pairs of lightly broke in jungle boots and a pair of insulated boots in my large A.L.I.C.E pack along with various other needful things stowed away in my truck.  I have a takedown bow and arrows in a quiver that straps to my pack.  However I will be carrying a couple things that will be much more persuasive in convincing ol Sleek that there are easier targets to loot and rob than me.   Yes, those are stowed away with my other gear.  Fortunately, I have a very good working knowledge of the terrain and water sources across most of this country.  That will help should the unthinkable happen.  Josh

[sleek]

I will always have a carborated pickup truck because i do believe something like this is possible.

Does it have electronic ignition?

Good old points and coil.

[Jim Davis]

Some question whether a coil would survive without protection....

[sleek]

The voltage regulator is solid state. Cant fry it.

[sleek]

Some question whether a coil would survive without protection....

No question.  They are designed by nature if their function to handle large electical loads.the creat their own emp to step current up. Coils will be fine.

[sleek]

Gundoc is right about roads too....

[Josh B]

The voltage regulator is solid state. Cant fry it.

Nearly all electronics are solid state these days including microprocessors, such as vehicle ECM's, ignition control modules, transmission shift modules and so on and so forth.  Unless they are hardened, they will all  fry with a strong enough EMP.  Actually, if you want a vehicle that will still be useful after such an event, you would be better off having a mechanical injected diesel.  Remember the old CUCV?  85 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 with a 6.2l diesel and what little circuitry that was on them was hardened.  Those would be ideal.  Since diesel stores longer before it goes bad than gas and you can substitute a lot of organic oils for diesel it's an all around better choice.  Josh

[sleek]

Well, you would know that wouldnt you? Lol Id be a fool to argue. Im gonna keep an eye out and rethink my emergecy vehical of choice.... though its usefulness  may be very limited. You do make yourself a target with one that works. But i guess later on after things have settled down, it would be useful.

[Eric Krewson]

Unless you are very lucky, travel by night away from the roads and have superb survival skills, the roving gangs of cannibals will have you roasting on a spit in short order.

Read the book "1 Second After" for a perspective. The author did a pretty good job of putting an EMP attack in perspective except he left out one thing; the 113 operating nuclear plants in the US which would all go critical and kill every living thing on the planet.

[sleek]

They cant go critical in the way most think. They dont blow up. Not enough fuel mass to allow that. I remember reading a study on that. The actual term critical  means its a self sustaining reaction. Thats needed for them to operate. Every functioning reactor in the world is critical right now. I think the term is super critical and again, not enough fuel mass in them to allow that.

[Eric Krewson]

I worked in the power industry, I was in fossil, about half my buddies transferred to nukes.

Think Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island, multiply that by 113, no cooling water and off they go, any questions?

Every effort in the world was focused on containing the aforementioned disasters. If the same thing happens after an EMP attack there will be no resources to make any effort to contain the fog of radiation that will spew from these reactors after they go critical and melt down.

[mullet]

Like Eric said once meltdown starts it will keep going deeper until it hits the water table and then start spewwing radioactive steam into the atmosphere.